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Bridge Day 2001 Canceled

Posted Friday, October 5, 2001

By Neale R. Clark

Bridge Day 2001 will not happen. However the decision by the Bridge Day Commission is greeted by the public - whether as moving on the side of caution following last month's terrorist attacks or overreacting to a threat that may not exist - West Virginia's largest single-day festival was canceled Thursday after the commission heard concerns by its subcommittee on safety and emergency planning.

"They may have killed Bridge Day, but the spirit of Bridge Day will remain alive," Keith Spangler said, referring to the terrorists whose acts led to security concerns.

Spangler, director of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Bridge Day Commission, noted that last week the commission had voted to move forward with planning, stressing that planning was the only commitment the commission actually had made.

It was a seemingly minor distinction at the time, but following that announcement, the safety and emergency subcommittee met in extended session on at least two occasions, according to Fayette County Sheriff Bill Laird.

"As a result of that planning process, it became evident that a lot of the enhanced security requirements would dictate changes in the atmosphere of the event," Laird said, adding the altered mood would obviously contrast with the purpose of the event itself, which is "the positive promotion of tourism in the area."

He said the security measures that appeared to be necessary "would have resulted in somewhat of a redefinition of Bridge Day as we have known it."

Laird had stressed last week that this year's event would demand increased security, but at that time he said, "I absolutely will not make a specific reference concerning the nature of those processes. Certainly, I think implicit in the idea of security is you do not compromise that security by making inappropriate particular reference to those security processes."

Spangler said Thursday's decision was "very, very tough" for the commission, considering how important the event is to the local economy.

He also said the vote was not unanimous.

Oct. 20 would have been the 21st Bridge Day, an event that has grown to see in the neighborhood of a quarter million people come to the region to watch BASE jumpers parachute from the bridge and to sample the wares of dozens of vendors.

"From the very beginning, we knew that this was a dynamic series of events," Spangler said, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States that have resulted in drastic changes in how security measures are viewed in a wide arena of venues.

He said the chamber of commerce had already been taking "precautionary measures" in terms of contingency plans should Bridge Day be canceled.

"We are actively exploring options for alternative events this year," he said. "We are hopeful that the state of West Virginia may be able to provide us with some funding to help buffer the financial impact of this decision."

He said he planned to attend Thursday night's meeting of Fayetteville Town Council as a step in setting up an alternative celebration.

"We're looking at location," he said. "We have a rough idea of a plan on our mind."

Spangler said security concerns were not without good reason, noting that earlier Thursday both the chamber of commerce and sheriff's department received threats of bombings relating to Bridge Day.

Asked about rumors that a black box of some sort was retrieved from beneath the New River Gorge Bridge, Laird responded, "As chief law enforcement authority in the county, I know nothing about that. That's highly consistent with the kinds of hysteria that I think are beginning to permeate our way of life."

Laird added he also knew nothing about rumors that State Police had been guarding both ends of the bridge.

Spangler said the cost factor involving beefed-up security also was a consideration, particularly given that the budgets of some agencies had been spread thin because of flooding emergencies during the summer.

"The cost could and probably would go beyond the resources that were available to the Fayette County Commission, the Bridge Day Commission or the chamber of commerce, or all of us together," he said.

"Although it's the state's largest single-day festival, Bridge Day is literally run on a shoestring budget."

© The Register-Herald 2001



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